Have you ever thought of dehydrating tomatoes to preserve your tomato crop? Or maybe you found a bunch of tomatoes on sale somewhere and couldn’t pass it up.
Dehydrating tomatoes is a great way to preserve them. They’re much lighter (I’m thinking pantry shelves and a lot of canned goods) and they take up a lot less space.
I actually ran across this by accident but have discovered it works out really great for me.
Not enough to can but too much to lose.
I first looked into dehydrated tomatoes because I just didn’t have enough to justify using the canner, but I just couldn’t let them sit on the counter and spoil and we couldn’t eat them fast enough.
A mix of too much and not enough all at the same time. A bit strange, hu?
Learning to dehydrate tomatoes.
And I’m glad I did.
I tend to pick my tomatoes just a little early. Before they split and before any critters can get to them.
Then I wait until they are good and ripe since that’s when they have the best flavor.
Try to slice them pretty thin, but I don’t work too hard at it. Just don’t slice them thick, like you might for a tomato sandwich.
I just recently discovered tomato sandwiches. Oh my, if you haven’t yet, you have to try them!! They are sooooooo good!
Then I lay them out in a single layer on the dehydrating sheets. The trays on my big dehydrator aren’t solid, so I line them with wax or parchment paper.
Some dehydrators allow for a temperature setting, some don’t. If you have that option, set it at about 125 deg. F.
I have a smaller dehydrator that has an “on” and “off” switch, with no temp setting or timer. I still use it all the time too. You just have to check it often and regularly.
The time it takes to dehydrate will depend on the thickness of your slices and the liquid content of your tomatoes.
I’ve dried them anywhere from 4-12 hours, depending on the humidity in the house, whether the AC is on in the house and the tomato type and thickness.
Then I’ll let them set until the next day. Only do this if you have AC going, otherwise the humidity will make them soft again. This way I can tell if they need anymore drying.
Once they’re cooled, they should be brittle and break when you bend them in half. If they bend and don’t break with a snap you’ll need to dehydrate them a little longer
Any moisture can possibly allow mold to grow when you store them.
A few ways to store dehydrated tomatoes.
After they’re dehydrated to a nice crisp you can powder them. When I first started doing this I always powdered them.
You can use a food processor and probably a blender too, although I haven’t tried that yet.
Most of the time I’ll start in a mortar pestal and finish in food processor or an herb/coffee grinder. Most people find that a bit much, but I find it relaxing.
I’m sure there are several ways of powdering tomatoes, so just find what works best for you.
I’ve also just stuffed them in a jar and squished them down to get as many in a jar as I can.
If you have a food saver you can then put a canning lid on it and suck the air out of the jar. This will seal the jar so your tomatoes will last a little longer. Just remember this isn’t really preserving them like canning would.
But since you’ve dehydrated them to get the moisture out, they should last a good long time anyway.
How to make tomato paste.
I’ve found using dehydrated tomatoes is a great way to make tomato paste.
I hate buying tomato paste because I never use a whole can or tube and end up wasting a lot of it.
So instead I use the dehydrated tomatoes for tomato paste. It’s as simple as mixing a one to one mixture of dehydrated tomatoes to water. Real easy and no waste. Just make what you need.
See making your own catsup here for more ideas.
How to make tomato sauce
Making more of a sauce is a two to one mixture. Two parts water and one part tomato powder.
This mixture can be added to any kind of taco meat, chili or any other recipe you might use a sauce in.
Other uses for dehydrated tomatoes
Another use for powered tomatoes is as a thickener. It’s like adding tomato paste except you can just add whatever powder you need to soak up any extra liquid you may have in your skillet.
You can add a ton of tomato flavor to any dish doing this.
Making stew-like tomatoes
If you didn’t powder your tomatoes and just dehydrated them and put them in a jar to add to soups or stews, just make sure there is enough liquid in your dish to allow for rehydration as it simmers.
If you’re not making a soup or stew, you can rehydrate your tomatoes on the stove by adding the dehydrated tomatoes to a sauce pan and adding enough water to thoroughy cover the tomatoes. Bring them to a boil and then remove them from the heat. Then let it set until they are rehydrated.
Something to Remember
One thing to remember when you are dehydrating tomatoes is that unless you want to remove the skins before you dehydrate them, they will have skins.
When you powder them, that really doesn’t make any difference. The skins powder like the rest of the tomato.
But if you are just stuffing them in a jar, when you rehydrate them there will still be skins.
Whether that is something that bothers you, is a personal preference.
I really hope you find this helpful as I did. I sure have enjoyed having another option for putting up my tomatoes. And I use them often to thicken a tomato dish with a huge punch of tomato flavor.
Tell me if you’ve tried this. I’m excited to hear what you think.
Until next time~
Health, Wealth & Blessings ~ Tracey